VICTORIA BISCHOFF: Just how many women have been short-changed in retirement as a result of government errors?
It is shameful that retired women are being forced to fight so hard to get the state pension they deserve.
On Saturday, the Mail revealed that as many as 130,000 married women may have been short-changed in retirement.
It is estimated these wives, widows and divorcees may now be owed up to £100 million in lost income.
Government errors: It is thought as many as 130,000 married women may be owed up to £100 m in lost income
Your response was overwhelming, with close to 1,000 emails arriving in our inbox over the Bank Holiday weekend alone.
The vast majority were from retired women who said they had long suspected their payouts were too low but did not know how to work out if they were correct.
This is not surprising given our state pension system is so complicated it leaves even the experts perplexed.
And as the plight of the Chattell family demonstrates, you cannot rely on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for help, either.
When the family from Cheshire queried 96-year-old Rosemary’s £77-a-week pension they were repeatedly assured it was correct.
Had they trusted what they were told and not made a final fourth call, it may never have emerged that she had, in fact, been underpaid for 20 years and was owed more than £117,000 including interest.
Administrative errors are bound to happen now and again — particularly within large organisations.
The true betrayal here is that once cases such as these came to light, the DWP failed to conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain if they were a one-off or just the tip of the iceberg. Given its track record, it’s hard not to assume we’re dealing with the latter.
Only last year, pensions minister Guy Opperman admitted around 360,000 inaccurate state pension forecasts had been sent to savers.
Until the Government conducts an audit of its records to ensure women are not missing out on a higher pension, it is down to you to fight your corner.
To help you work out if you could be a victim, former pension ministers Steve Webb has launched a useful online calculator (lcp.uk.com/is-your- state-pension-being-underpaid/).
Write to [email protected] to tell us how you get on.
Feeling cheated
Last week Money Mail revealed how thousands of small businesses are in danger of going to the wall because insurers refuse to pay out on policies designed to protect them in the event of a contagious disease outbreak.
Today, the chairman of trade body the Association of British Insurers (ABI) attempts to defend the industry’s position and claims firms had never intended to offer cover for global pandemics.
‘No insurance industry in the western world’ provides cover for pandemics as standard, he says.
If this is the case, why on earth didn’t insurers include a clear exclusion for pandemics in their terms and conditions? Ordinary people cannot be expected to know what is and isn’t covered if it isn’t stated in black and white.
Take piano shop owner Mark Crossland, for example. He thought he was doing the right thing by taking out insurance that included cover for contagious diseases after Italy went into lockdown. His broker had suggested the policy specifically because pandemics are not mentioned in the small print. Yet he has still been denied a payout.
Given this indefensible lack of clarity, is it any wonder business owners feel cheated?
Bank of thanks
It is important to hold banks to account when they get it wrong, but one Money Mail reader has this week offered proof they can also get it right.
Sandra Parsons, from Kent, said: ‘We are always ready to complain when we receive poor service but I want to complement Barclays.
I am just an ordinary account holder but it rang me twice in the last nine weeks to see if I am alright and if there is anything it can do for me. I will not forget it when this is all over.’
Let it be a reminder that a little bit of compassion at a difficult time really can go a long way.